As Time Goes By
by claire3407
Summary: Chris left her years ago, but now is he having regrets? Haven't written in a while, please be nice! Please R&R!!It means a lot!
1. Default Chapter

Riding down the interstate, late at night. Only a few other cars were driving along side them. Other than that, they were all alone. The radio was on, she was not sure what song it was. He was talking as she drifted into sleep, dreaming about what was to come, what would happened when they returned.  
  
He Slammed on the brakes, it woke her up immediately. Just three miles from the rest stop, he said " I tried to be what I'm not, so could you please collect your things." He did not even give her a second look as he opend the trunk with the small button on the lower part of the door. "I don't want to be cold, I don't want to be cruel, I just got to find more than what's happening with you, and if you'd open up the door." As she opened the door, he said. " While you were sleeping, I was listening to the radio wondering what you're dreaming, when it came to mind that I didn't care.  
  
She stepped out onto the cold, dark pavement of the road. It was damp, and it smelled like there would be more rain falling soon.. He did not, or would not, look at her. She didn't know what to say, even if she had something to say she probably would not be able to say it. Her mouth was dry, and she felt like something just went horribly wrong.  
  
The light was shining from the radio, she could barely see his face. He knew all the words she never had said, he knew she did not understand why he as going to leave her in an unfamiliar place alone. He did not know why he was doing it either, how could he explain? " She made her way to the back and took her backpack and small, green, army bag out of the trunk. She walked back to the open door. "While you were sleeping." was all he said.  
  
She shut the door, and he drove away. He never looked back. She stood, in the cold, waiting, waiting for him to change his mind, for him to come back. He never did. She waited about a half an hour for him to return, after that, she began walking. It was frightening walking alone on the interstate in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and darkness surrounding you, with the exception of the headlights of a large semi-truck or car, it was pitch black. She tried her hardest to follow the white line on the ground in front of her, it would at least keep her from walking into the middle of the road.  
  
She walked on and on, what felt like forever, when she came to the rest stop, finally. It had a hotel and restaurant. It looked as though the restaurant was open all night. She walked inside, relieved to be out of the cold and be around people again. She walked to the counter and sat down, the waitress asked for her order, "Diet coke, please, with no ice." "Of course, dear." The older waitress replied. She was about mid-fourties with blonde hair tied in a bun. She had a pink waitress's uniform on with a white apron attached to the front. She brought the girl the diet coke, with no ice. She stood there for a moment, studying the girl.  
  
She was young, about 18 or 19. Not too tall, about five-two. She had just over shoulder length, brown hair, and blue-gray eyes. She looked cold, he cheeks were rosy from the cold and she looked very tired. The girl looked up at the woman, "Yes?" "Nothing, dear." "Are you sure?" The girl said, raising her right eyebrow. "Well, are you all right? Do you need a phone or a place to stay?" "I'm alright." She replied. "I just made a dumb mistake, that's all." "You sure you don't want the phone?" "Well.actually, I think I do."  
  
The woman brought her a cordless phone. She dialed something and waited for someone on the other end to pick up. "Hey, Benji?...Yeah.I need a ride.I was, he left.right out on the highway.yeah,.I don't know, hold on." She put the phone down from her ear and looked at the waitress, "Where am I ?" "Newton" "Thanks." She held the phone back up to her ear, "Newton.yeah, that's right.Benji, you're the best.alright, later." She handed the phone back to the waitress, "Thanks, I'm going to go wait outside.  
  
  
  
I know what you are all thinking."nothing to do with RE." Well, If you didn't notice, I didn't mention any names! It has plenty to do with RE, 


	2. Home

Chris stepped pulled into the driveway in his black grand am. He stepped out of the car on to the pavement of the driveway, thinking. He could not stop thinking about her; she was young and full of love for anyone willing to have it. He should have never gotten involved with her. He walked to the door of the small house. It was blue with white trim; it looked like something out of one of the old shows in the 50's. It was a two-story house, with a garage and good size back yard. They had a pool and a dog, and everything was perfect, almost everything. His sister, Claire, was sitting on the couch, watching television. "Chris!" she squealed. She ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, happy to see him again. He had been away for a few months. He went into the air force, but was dishonorably discharged. He went to a small town called Raccoon City, with a man named Barry Burton, to join the S.T.A.R.S. organization. He was now 23. His sister was sixteen, young and pretty, she reminded him of."Chris!" He heard his mother's voice say. He turned around to see his mom looking up at him with a smile. "I thought you were bringing someone with you?" she looked very curious, she thought he was bringing a girl home. He did not know what to say, he did not want to tell her what he really did, and she would be very ashamed of him. "I was, but she couldn't come."  
  
"Why not?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"She had something she had to do."  
  
"Oh." She said, "Anyway, why don't you two come in the kitchen, dinner's ready."  
  
"You're lying." Claire said as she walked behide Chris into the kitchen, "She dumped you, didn't she?"  
  
"No." Chris said  
  
"Then why isn't she here? I know you're lying, mom does too, you can tell."  
  
"Whatever." Chris said, he walked into the kitchen and sat down.  
  
"Honey," his mother said, "Are you alright, you seem a little distant."  
  
"I'm fine." He said, and began to eat dinner.  
  
On the highway somewhere.  
  
A girl and a boy in a blue car drive down the highway, neither of them speaking a word to each other. The girl looked upset, which was expected. The boy the looked as though he wanted to speak, he wanted to ask her what happened, but he could tell she did not want to talk about it. They drove and drove. They just kept going. The boy, Benji, turned on the radio, that was the only noise in the whole car. An hour or more passed, they approached the exit where they would get off, and go home. Benji knew she was upset; he didn't want to leave her by herself. He wanted to make her feel better, but she did not look like that's what she wanted.  
  
"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked  
  
"What do you mean?" He said looking over at her for a moment.  
  
"I don't have anywhere to go when I get back."  
  
"That's right.well, tonight you can stay with me, I don't mind."  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked with hope in her voice.  
  
"Yeah sure, it's not problem." He said smiling.  
  
"Thank you so much Benji!" she said, and she too started to smile.  
  
Sorry it's so short But I have to go soon and don't have much time to write, so here it is! Thanks to everyone for reviewing! I love you all! 


	3. Things change

1 week later  
  
Chris put the key to his apartment in the keyhole and turned it. He walked in to the small, blue apartment. Everything was exactly as he left it, everything was exactly the same.there were pictures hanging on the wall, pictures of the good times and memories he had from the past few months. He was still so confused; he did not understand why he did what he did. A week had past and he still could not get it out of his head.  
  
He kept wondering what happened, if she ever made it to the rest stop, if she ever made it home. 'Probably,' he thought, 'She can take care of herself.' He walked over to the black couch and sat down. He looked around again; there were many things still in the apartment that did not belong to him. Alana would probably be coming by for them at some time.  
  
Hours passed as he watched television. He was not really watching the shows, he was thinking about what he was going to do next. The door opened, and Alana stepped in. She did not look angry, but she did not look happy to see him either. "Hey!" he said happily as he stood up.  
  
"Hi." She said, unenthusiastically.  
  
"Um." He did not know what to say, he could not tell if she was angry, or if she was upset. He could not read her at all. "What's up?"  
  
"Not too much." She said, still standing in the doorway, "I thought you would be at your mom's still, and I just got back, so-"  
  
"About that," he interrupted, "Where did you go?"  
  
She had nothing to say to him. That was the last thing she wanted to talk about, the situation was already very awkward, "I just came by to get a couple things, I won't be here long." She walked past him into the bedroom. He could here drawers being opened, then closed. The closet door squeaked open, and she returned to the living room. "Well, that's it. I might be back later on to get some other things, but I probably won't see you, so." she just looked up at him, she did not want to say goodbye, no one ever does, but she had to. He did not want her, and she only wanted happiness for him. "Goodbye." She finally spit out after about five minutes. She turned and walked out the door, never hesitating. 'She's gone. 'He thought to himself, 'No more shows, practices, weird band members, no none of it.' Now that was settled, so he called his friend, Billy, to see if he wanted to go out and get a beer or something later. Billy, John, and himself were all going to go out and have something to drink later. Everything was going to go back to normal.  
  
3 hours later, 8 o'clock  
  
Chris, Billy, and John all arrived at the small bar right across the street from where Billy lived. They drank and talked.and talked. They were out until about two in the morning, when all the bars closed, and they had no choice but to go home. They all walked to their homes, and said their goodbyes. He walked up the stairs to his apartment, trying to be quiet. He unlocked the door and went in, collapsing on the couch. "Alana," He shouted, "can you." He remembered she was not there. Suddenly, he felt very alone. She had only been living with him for about 2 months, and she was twenty-two, he convinced her that it was the right thing to come with him, he promised would watch out for her, and take care of her. He broke his promise. Overcome with guilt, he picked himself up off the couch and walked into the bedroom, now only his bedroom, and went to sleep.  
  
3 Years later, 1999  
  
The "Umbrella Incident" had happened, and after almost a year since the original incident, they drew closer and closer to taking Umbrella down, but that's not what he was worried about right now. It was Christmas Eve, and he, Jill, Barry, Claire, Leon, Barry's family, and Carlos were going to a small "rock show" in a park near Barry's new home. The park seemed fairly large, it was not huge, but it was not just a pond and a bench either. They made their way to some seats in the small stadium, usually used for high school football games, and things like that. They all sat down as the first band began to play. Everyone was having a good time, "you know," Barry said, leaning over to Chris, "I haven't seen everyone having such a good time in.well, I can't remember!" he let out a small laugh, he was also quite happy to be there. It was time for the last band to play, they seemed to be well known by the locals. "And here is 'Animated Glitter!'" the announcer called out into the microphone. Five girls ran out onto the stage, the each picked up their instrument, and the singer ran up to the microphone, the other girls began to play.  
  
Just the thought of you in love With someone else, It breaks my heart to see you Hurting yourself  
  
'That voice.' he thought to himself, "There's something so familiar about it.'  
  
But you are under influence of Bad things And I can't help out when You're not listening ooh, ooh.  
  
"Alana!" He shouted out loud, both Jill and Barry looked at him.  
  
"What?" Barry asked.  
  
"That girl, the singer, I used to gout with her, remember Alana?"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Barry said, putting on a smile, "I remember her."  
  
The band finished after a few songs, and walked off stage, just like they had entered. Chris ran down off the bleacher s as fast as he could, he wanted to catch up with Alana before she left, it had been three years, and maybe they could talk now. "He walked behind the stage where they had gone, and there she was. She was with her friends and guitarists, Isabella. She was tall and skinny, with long blond-brownish hair, the other was Simone, and she was the bass player. She had short brown hair with blond highlights, she was an average weight and height, Also, there were two men standing by her, one of them had black and pink hair, and was a little short, the other was an average height with black hair, he was standing very close to her. They were all talking and laughing, about what he didn't know.  
  
He walked over to her, and said "Hey, Alana."  
  
She stared at him for a moment, obviously unaware of whom he was. "Um.wait." She was trying to remember his name; it just wouldn't come to her. "Chris!" she said, sounding accomplished.  
  
"Yeah." He said looking at the boy that was closet to her; he had his arm around her waist. For some reason he felt so jealous, he had no reason to, but he did. "Well, I just wanted to see how things were."  
  
"Everything's great!" she said, "Everything is better than it's ever been! We were signed for record deal, and everything is looking up." She looked at him, smiling.  
  
"I got to go, so maybe I'll talk to you later." He began to feel uncomfortable, and felt it was time to leave.  
  
"Alright, we have to get going anyway, later!" She smiled t him. All her friends said bye, and they all walked towards some equipment that was packed up about twenty feet away  
  
Chris walked back to Barry and the rest of the gang. "How'd it go?" Barry asked with a happy tone in his voice.  
  
"She forgot me." He said, "She couldn't remember my name at first." 


	4. january

2000 January  
  
A year went by. Chris had other relationships with other girls. He knew that he had to forget about Alana. He knew she was never coming back to him. He had several girlfriends, life went on, but he couldn't help but think of her, at least once everyday. He was going to be moving close to Barry now; most of his furniture was already there.  
  
He'd been living in the same apartment for five years, he decided it was time to move somewhere new, maybe start a new life. Chris walked to the back room, the bedroom, and began to pack a few small things into boxes. He opened the closet, and took some bags and boxes off of the top shelf. One for the boxes caught is eye. It had something written on it:  
  
1996.  
  
That was the last year Alana had lived with him. He opened the box, inside; there were little things that had sentimental value, to someone. A guitar pick, a wristband, a CD, some bracelets, a few stickers, photographs, and a scarf. 'That scarf.' he thought to himself. He pulled the scarf out of the box. He held it up for a moment, looking at it. It was blue, with different shade of blue streaked over it. It was about the size of a small neck scarf. It used to be Alana's.  
  
"Something she forgot." he said out loud. Still holding the scarf, his hands fell to his lap. He began to feel cold, nauseous, sad, and angry all at once. His eyes closed involuntarily as he fought of the urge to shout, or cry, he was not sure. He squeezed the blue scarf tighter in his hands, he was overcome with all different emotions, and nothing could make it stop.  
  
He stayed there for some time, thinking. Thinking about how things were, and how they may have been. He lay down on the bed, still clutching the scarf. He wanted to forget it all, leave everything behind. He no longer wanted to hurt over this girl that was lost to him. Even after a year, it still hurt him that she did not remember his name. He could not, or would not, let it go. He soon drifted into sleep.  
  
Barry had Chris's house ready for his arrival. He made sure everything was clean and put together in a neat manner. Chris was going to be arriving the next night; he and his family were going to eat dinner with him at his new home.  
  
Chris woke up. He looked around, seeing the sun had gone down, he knew he had been asleep for longer than he thought. He stood up, still feeling groggy, he had to find his balance afar he had risen to his feet. Making his way down the hall, he felt his stomach rumble, he was hungry. He walked over to the small, black, cordless phone on the white kitchen counter. He dialed Jill's number, hoping she would be home, and she would be willing to go eat with him.  
  
No one answered, Jill had been going out with Carlos for a few months. It was Friday, so they were probably doing something. He decided to sit and watch television. He walked over to the small, comfy couch. Picking up the remote, he tried to think of what he was going to do. He was hungry and bored, not a very good combination.  
  
He turned on MTV; nothing too interesting was on, just the MTV news. He listened, but was not really paying much attention to it until he heard:  
  
"New comers Animated Glitter's front woman Alana Farley and also new, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington have announced their engagement. No plans for the wedding have been set, but we hear it will be soon."  
  
Chris could not speak. He felt betrayed. He knew that she was not his anymore, but something in him made him furiously jealous of this other man. He could not take anymore of this. He called Claire, who only lived about a half an hour away, and asked her to dinner with him. She was going to meet him at a restaurant nearby  
  
They ate dinner and talked about various little things happening in their lives at the moment. They talked, at length, about his moving away. She was going to miss him being around. "I'll come back and visit." He said, looking at Claire with a smile.  
  
"I know." she said, " But, now instead of thirty minutes, you're going to be Three hours away! Call me, a lot." She smiled.  
  
"Well," Chris said looking at his watch, " It's eleven, so."  
  
"I got it." She said smiling again, " I'll talk to you later."  
  
They both exited the restaurant together, then parting at the door. Claire could tell something was wrong, she didn't know what it was. He would be leaving tomorrow, so she did not want to stress him anymore by asking. It was not her concern, for now. It was time to go home. 


	5. Return

Claire heard about Alana on television earlier that day too, and she knew that was why Chris was upset. 'Why can't he just let her go?' she thought to herself while walking to her car. Alana had, obviously, started over. She still did not know what happened, but she was not concerned with that right now. This girl had left quite an impression on her brother, and he was being ruined by it.  
  
She found her car parked by the side of the road and pointed the small  
remote at it. The alarm beeped, and she got in. 'I am going to go see  
Chris.' She thought, 'I am sure he wouldn't mind.' She started the  
car and pulled out of the space. She drove until she reached Chris's  
building, and found a place to park across the street.  
  
As Claire made her way inside, she noticed the lobby of the building  
had been changed since she was last there. It used to look old and  
worn, but now it looked completely new. The walls were covered in deep  
red wallpaper that reminded her of roses. She looked up to see a large  
chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It looked like the crystals were  
dripping off of it, like ice. There was a small reception area for  
security guards to sit and monitor the building. It was made of a dark  
wood and was pushed into the corner, two guards sat at it looking at  
Claire, waiting for her to make her move. Claire noticed and made her  
way towards the elevator. She walked in the relatively large space and  
pushed a button for the twelfth floor. As the elevator continued  
upward, she thought 'How does he afford to live here?'  
  
Claire walked to the door of Chris's apartment and knocked.  
  
No one answered, so she knocked again. This time, she heard some kind of rustling inside, she was not positive, but she thought she heard a woman's voice. Did Chris have a secret girlfriend, was she imagining it? Or, did Chris pick up a hooker on his way home. That was disgusting, why would her nice, loving, wonderful brother - The door opened and interrupted her thinking. Chris was standing there; by the look on his face she knew he did not expect her.  
  
"Hey, Claire.Uh.What are you doing here so late? Is something wrong?" The expression on his face went from surprised to distressed.  
  
"No, no! There's nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk to you about something." She paused for a few minutes.  
  
"What is it?" Chris asked, becoming more distressed.  
  
"Well, if you have company, I shouldn't bother you." She wanted to see who it was, just to know would make her feel better.  
  
"I don't have company, exactly." He answered  
  
'So it is the prostitute.' she thought.  
  
"You can come in if you want." Chris moved out of the doorway to allow Claire to enter.  
  
She made her way into the small hallway and followed it to the living room. There were not any more pictures on the wall. Chris always loved pictures of people and things he loved, most people do, but he would put all of his pictures somewhere he could see them. He was not always like that; he just started putting up pictures of everything about three or four years ago. She stopped when she reached the room, and looked at the girl sitting on the couch. She looked like someone she knew, but she also looked unfamiliar. Claire walked over to the couch and sat as far from the girl as she could.  
  
"Hey, Claire. I'm Alana." The girl said as she reached out for Claire's hand.  
  
Claire put her own out and shook Alana's. "Wow, I have seen your picture so many times, but." She has nothing to say. The first time she was supposed to meet her, Chris showed up at their mom's house without her. Claire looked at Chris, in the light now, she could see he was upset. Why was this girl here? Why isn't she gone, carrying on with her own life? "Why did you do that?" Claire spat at the girl.  
  
"Do what?" She answered, with confusion written all over her face.  
  
"Claire, stop it!" Chris said, sounding angry.  
  
She was unsure why she said that, but she didn't know what else to say. This woman ruined her brother's life, as far as she could tell. Why should she be nice to her?  
  
"I think I should go." Alana said, standing up. "I have to get back anyway, I have an audition tomorrow." She walked to Chris and said goodbye. He just watched her leave; he knew there was nothing he could do to make her stay.  
  
"Why did you do that Claire, that was my chance." He said angrily as he sat down.  
  
"I wasn't trying to." she didn't know how to finish that. She just looked at him, his eye, filled with sorrow. She had done some wrong.  
  
"Look, Claire, I don't want to talk, and I would really appreciate it if you would leave. He stood up and walked to the bathroom, the door slammed. She knew it was time for her to go.  
  
I hope this is alright, I haven't' written a fic since the last time I updated this one. Anyway, I hope everyone is alright with this chapter, and I am trying to get back into writing again. I will update soon, Thanks!  
  
P.S. I am, actually, not too fond of this chapter and was considering not posting it, but I was having a hard time trying to remember what I was doing with this story. Suggestions are gladly accepted and I will try to do something with them if I can. If I can't think for this story, I might be dropping it. 


End file.
